


Through All The Pleasure and Pain

by mcgarrygirl78



Category: The West Wing
Genre: Drama, M/M, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2007-08-31
Updated: 2007-08-31
Packaged: 2019-05-31 07:33:46
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,705
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15114704
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mcgarrygirl78/pseuds/mcgarrygirl78
Summary: Would ghosts of liaisons past drift in and out until Charlie promised to redeem real or imagined transgressions?





	Through All The Pleasure and Pain

**Author's Note:**

> A copy of this work was once archived at National Library, a part of the [ West Wing Fanfiction Central](https://fanlore.org/wiki/West_Wing_Fanfiction_Central), a West Wing fanfiction archive. More information about the Open Doors approved archive move can be found in the [announcement post](http://archiveofourown.org/admin_posts/8325).

Stephen King was still the man. Charlie stood in front of the stacks reading the back of one of his latest novels. It had been a while since he sank his teeth into a good book. He hardly had time but he would make some for this adventure. He was buying this, and the Dean Koontz novel too. It was past time for Charlie to relax and enjoy some 'me' time.

“Charlie? Oh my God, hi.”

He turned when he heard his name. Damn, she was still gorgeous.

“Hey Simone.”

She rushed into his arms, placing both hands on his shoulders. Her scent, Charlie could never remember what it was called, made him heady. It always had.

“God, I haven’t seen you in a while. Where have you been cutie pie?”

“Around. I have just been so busy with…”

“Blah, blah, blah.” She rolled her hazel eyes and laughed. “You are always so busy; that’s what I'm for. Wasn’t I a good distraction?”

“Yeah.” He answered weakly.

“You have to come back to my place because the yahoos are taking over. The new guys in the Hill are total dip shits. You're a powerful guy; you can do something about that.”

“I'm…”

“Charlie?”

They both looked over and saw the pretty redhead standing in the aisle. Zoey looked at the woman in her boyfriend’s arms. She was tall, though Zoey was not sure if that was nature or her stilettos. She had smooth cocoa skin and was dressed for the breaking weather in a jean skirt and man’s tank top. Her bra was red; Zoey could see it through her shirt. That meant Charlie could see it.

“Hey babe, this is um, um…”

“Simone.” She extended her hand and smiled. Zoey reluctantly shook it. “How ya doing?”

“I'm Zoey.”

“Oh, it’s great to meet you.” She turned back to Charlie. “Look, I better boog. You need to stop being a stranger, and tell your little curly haired friend I said the same thing. I've actually been considering moving to South Beach…I get so sick of the winters here.”

“They would have their hands full with you.”

“Damn right. Charlie, it was good to see you.” She kissed his lips. “Stop by anytime. Bye Zoey.”

She could hardly wave she was so overcome. So that’s what Charlie liked when they weren’t together…so that’s what Charlie liked. She could not compete with that.

“That was Simone.” He said.

“I gathered that. Where do you know her from?”

“Um, she’s a bartender at Bar Rouge. Josh and I used to hang out there last year. It was no big deal; I wasn’t a regular or anything.”

“She seemed to know you quite well. No need to belittle it.”

Charlie knew that tone and that tone meant the conversation was not going to end well. He and Zoey were breaking up as her father accepting censure from the House of Representatives for non-disclosure of multiple sclerosis. That was not the reason for the breakup but it gave Charlie the opportunity to bury his head and broken heart in work for a while. 

When he emerged, Josh told the young body man that he needed to get a life. He was in his 20s for God’s sake, living in a town filled with intriguing women. All ages, races, types, and provocations…nothing could be more exciting. For a while, Charlie overindulged; it was easy to be caught up. He had never been offered a free buffet and even he had to admit he was starving. Eventually he got his fill and life went back to normal.

“Zo…”

He reached back for her hand, sliding his fingers through hers. He started to walk but she stayed planted.

“Zoey, c’mon babe.”

She sighed, following along. A mocha chino was calling her name so they ventured into the café. It was Saturday afternoon and the place was crowded. There were no tables to sit at but coffee was definitely going to hit the spot.

“Charlie? Hey there buddy boy!”

Zoey turned, saw the gorgeous girl, sucked her teeth and went to stand in line. Charlie just smiled.

“Hi Rose.”

Rose Carvente was a gorgeous 22 year old. She was a recent graduate of Howard University who now worked for Senator Linda Petrie of New Mexico. If Charlie remembered his time with her correctly, she had a penchant for Ketel One vodka martinis and dancing on tables. Her belly button was also an outie, though not disgustingly so. He wished he had not remembered that…he was sure his girlfriend could read his mind.

“It’s been too long. How have you been?”

She bounced into his arms. Charlie did his best to put some distance between them.

“I've been good. I'm here with my girlfriend, so you know…”

“Oh shit, I'm sorry. You're off the market. That sucks.” She laughed. “I just want to say hello. Maybe I will see you out and about. You look good.”

“You do too. How is the Senator?”

“A dream come true. I love my job. Give me a call some time; I still party sometimes with Jeff and those dorks.”

“Oh OK. I've been so busy lately and I hardly have time as is.”

“Sure, I get that. Catch you later.”

She waved and was off. Oh dear lord, he thought, could things get any worse? Was this supposedly pleasant afternoon going to turn into a twisted version of a Christmas Carol? Would ghosts of liaisons past drift in and out until Charlie promised to redeem real or imagined transgressions? This was not the only Barnes and Noble in the city; why was everyone in there today?

“Don’t touch me.” Zoey said through clenched teeth.

Charlie dropped his hands at his sides and shook his head.

“Zoey, I know people. I can't control…”

“I don’t even want to talk to you.”

“Why? Because some people…”

“People? You mean scantily clad women. You were a busy boy while we were apart I see.”

“Apart being the operative word. C’mon Zo, it’s not as if you joined the nunnery. Jean Paul is the only one I know of.”

“You go to hell!”

He was definitely not in the mood for a fight and people were already looking. It wasn’t as if they weren’t recognized and most of the masses were hoping for some kind of nuclear meltdown that would make its way to the tabloids. If Zoey could not control her emotions, Charlie certainly could. He muttered something about paying for his books and got the hell out of there. 

A petite girl, with hair like Zoey’s, tried to chat him up in line. Was this a test of some sort? He did not go past the pleasantries. He bought three books in all, including a fictionalized biography of Mary, Queen of Scots for Zoey. After paying, he saw her waiting in the large vestibule with her coffee. He approached carefully, not sure if she wanted to strike. Hot coffee all over him was not on the agenda today.

“I'm ready.” He said.

She walked out without a word so he just followed her. At the corner he could not take anymore.

“Zoey, why are you so pissed? I didn’t do anything and we are supposed to be having a pleasant afternoon.”

“You really want to have this conversation now? Here, in public?”

“What crawled up your ass?”

He didn’t want to say that but his anger won over his rational mind. She was the one who broke up with him. She was the one who told him to move on more times than he cared to count. She flaunted Jean Paul in his face...wore him around her waist like an expensive belt. Whatever he was doing during their separation had nothing to do with her and it was definitely not up for discussion and intense scrutiny.

“Fuck you Charlie!”

“Dammit!”

“Charlie?”

He looked up at the woman approaching him. Zoey crossed the street at the green light and kept walking. He was torn between chasing her and chatting with the girl he almost recognized. He chose the latter. Zoey was angry and she didn’t give a damn how she acted, in public or otherwise.

“Hi.” He said.

“Do you remember me? Nadia…from Tim Lowell’s birthday party.”

Oh yes, how could he forget her. They went back to her place after too many shots of Wild Turkey and she pleasured him orally for about two hours. While most men will tell you that any blowjob is a good one, he hooked up with Nadia right after he and Zoey stopped talking again. She was staying in Manchester…they seemed to have rekindled something. As fast as it started it was over though. Charlie missed her but didn’t call. He didn’t know what to say. Nadia helped to ease his sorrows, if only for a few hours. Zoey was on his mind the whole time and it was the only intimate encounter of his life with guilt attached to it.

“I do.” Charlie replied. “How are you?”

“Good. Book shopping?”

“Yeah, um…”

“You don’t have to think about something to say. I just wanted to say hello. It was nice to see you.”

“Nadia, I wasn’t fishing for something to say. I had the worse day, you know. It was supposed to be great and then all hell broke loose without my knowledge or consent.”

“Been there. You wanna go grab coffee or something?”

“That would be nice but I have to go and chase my girlfriend.”

“Shit, you did have a bad day.”

“Yeah. Good seeing you, sincerely.” He touched her arm before they parted ways.

“Bye.”

Charlie stood by the traffic light box for a few moments. He knew he was searching in vain but he looked through the throngs of people for her. She had dyed her hair darker recently so she would have stood out. She was long gone though, probably back at the residence cursing his good name. They were supposed to have dinner out and spend the night in his apartment. 

They were supposed to get naked and do dirty things to each other. Charlie planned to go to bed a very happy man. He would most likely wake that way too…Zoey loved early morning romps. What a waste. He sighed and grabbed a cab coming down the street. It was time to salvage the rest of his afternoon and evening.

***

Lobster fried rice, beer, and a welterweight boxing match…there were worse ways to spend a Saturday night. He could have been stuck watching some film about 30 year female friendships. He could have been at work. As spring began, the First Lady and President were vacationing at the farm. For two uninterrupted weeks Jed Bartlet was resting and relaxing. Charlie knew what he was supposed to be doing tonight.

He was supposed to be doing his girlfriend. Deanna wasn’t even around; she had more of a life than he ever had at that age. He planned to have Zoey naked, maybe take her right on the couch. They always talked about doing it in the open fridge like 9 ½ Weeks, or in the sink like Glenn Close and Michael Douglas. At the rate he was going Charlie would be happy for some couch cuddling and Britcoms. Maybe a little dry humping like the early days of dating. 

Between her school schedule and his at the White House, he had seen little of Zoey over the past six weeks. That’s why she was so pissed off today. She was possessive of her time with Charlie. Here come all of these girls, telling her what she had been missing; what they had indulged in and thoroughly enjoyed. Oh please, he was being an egomaniac. Maybe she was just cramping or having a bad day and decided to take it out on him. 

What was the point of pontificating about it anyway? It was over and better to move on. The real question was, was ‘it’ over? Zoey had an impulsive tendency and he had already made it clear that he was too old for games. If she walked out of his life this time, over real or imagined concerns, Charlie was closing this chapter of his life.

He toyed with his cell phone; thought of calling her for the billionth time. He just didn’t want to fight. It was rare that he got the whole weekend off and peace was at the top of his list. Charlie was not fond of fighting losing battles anyway…it took too much work for too little result.

The knock on his door brought him out of his thoughts. He swore as he got up to answer it that he was not going to let his neighbor Jay ‘borrow’ any more beer. That guy had to owe him a 30 pack by now. Charlie was not running a beer distributor over here. He opened the door and looked at his girlfriend. She was wearing dark denim capris, a peach tank top, and jean jacket. Charlie could see the raindrops on her jacket and in her pigtails…another spring storm was coming. He hoped there was only going to be one tonight.

“I'm sorry.” She mumbled it, shoving her hands in her pockets and looking at her sneakers.

“Alright.”

“Can I come in?”

“Zoey, I do not want to fight. I have no intention of yelling, arguing, disagreeing, rehashing the past, or any of that stuff. If that is why you came here you should really just go home, OK?”

“I just want to come in and talk. Please.”

Charlie eased his way from in front of the door and she came in. He sat on the arm of the couch with his arms folded, waiting to see what happened. He rethought his stance 30 seconds later. He remembered from communications class that that look was combative. So he tried to relax, tugging on the hem of his Reggie White Eagles jersey. She had come to him so he would let her speak her mind.

“I guess I um…I acted horribly this afternoon.”

He was still silent. It was hard for Zoey to look into his eyes. She focused on the numbers on his chest instead.

“All those beautiful women wanting just a bit of your attention; I hated it. It’s silly but it’s true.”

“You know a lot of guys too. I can't say I wouldn’t be jealous if the roles were reversed. But I didn’t plan any of it and it was not cool for you to take it out on me. It’s a small town, this is bound to happen. I'm not with them Zoey, I am with you. It’s not going to work if we can't get used to running into people from our pasts.”

“Did you sleep with them?” she asked.

“That question is inappropriate and I'm not answering it.”

There was silence again. Zoey nodded and Charlie sighed.

“C’mere babe.”

She rushed into his arms and held him tight.

“I love you; I will always love you.” He whispered.

“Me too. I'm sorry for acting so silly.”

“It’s OK.”

“It’s not OK.” She pulled away some.

“It is.”

“I acted so childish Charlie and I don’t even know why. Well, I know why but that doesn’t excuse it. I need to tell you something personal.”

“You can tell me anything.”

“I…I never…Charlie, you are the only one.”

“I'm not following.” He said.

“There have been men in my life; some intimate. You are the only man I have ever made love to.”

The news hit Charlie like a ton of bricks. He really didn’t know that; didn’t even suspect. Two years they had been apart, maybe a little longer. He knew of Jean Paul and it seemed strange that they had never…

“You two didn’t…?”

“We, you know, but didn’t go all the way. That wasn’t my way. I wanted to know him better, love him. Jumping into something after what happened between us was not good for me.”

“He put drugs in your drink. He was going to take what you didn’t want to give him. Dammit, as if I need more reason to want him dead.”

“Stop.” Zoey put her hand on his chest. “Can we just scratch today? I'm sorry that I acted as I did. It was childish and I made an ass of myself.”

Charlie nodded. He pulled her close, kissing her lips. He should have been doing this for the past couple of hours. He wanted to make up for lost time. In the moment, Charlie didn’t know if he was thinking about the last few hours or the last few years. Zoey stroked his face as they kissed. She could only smile as he slid her jacket off her shoulders and down her arms.

“I love you Zoey.” He murmured between kisses. “I will always love you.”

“Say that again.” Her hands stroked his chest.

“I will say it a million times if I have to. I will always love you Zoey Bartlet.”

She pulled the jersey over his head, continuing to stroke his chest.

“I'm sorry for flying off the handle. I just…”

Charlie had no idea he was the only man she had ever slept with. Sure, she had been sexual with other men, but he was the only one she loved enough. Jean Paul...oh God he wanted to throw a parade with that information.

“You're just a tad possessive.” Charlie replied.

Zoey smiled but he could see it behind her big blue eyes. She was sorry for how she acted.

“C’mon, let’s go to the bedroom.”

“Why?” her smile turned mischievous. “No one is here.”

“I need a bit of space to execute my plans.”

Zoey left her tank top and sneakers in the living room as she took Charlie’s hand. The kisses turned passionate on the bed. He pulled Zoey on top of him; she straddled him and that made him smile. There was still something that needed to be said but neither one of them could think of it. They decided to kiss instead…it was a fine use of their mouths. She pulled out of the kiss, moving her mouth down his neck and chest. Her tongue felt rough and wet over his skin. Charlie moaned softly. He knew what she was going to do. She was going to repossess him, claim him again as her own.

“Zo, baby you don’t have to.” he whispered.

“I want to.”

“But you might want to for the wrong reasons.” He put his hands on her shoulders to slow her rapid descent.

“What could be wrong with your cock in my mouth?”

“Well nothing, but, you know…”

She held her fingers to her lips, telling him to be quiet. Charlie obeyed her. Then she went down on him. It was that sweet, delicious torture, the way her tongue drew up his long vein as if it were a popsicle on a steaming hot day. Then she deep throated him.

“Zoey, Zoey, shit, oh shit! Zoey!”

He exploded with another groan of her name, stroking her hair as she cleaned him with her mouth. In his arms they kissed tenderly; Charlie touched every part of her as he helped her undress. God, he loved her body. The alabaster skin, smooth on his fingers and lips. Her auburn hair, growing long but he liked it that way. Her sweet neck, never good at hiding the hickeys he was addicted to putting there.

Her breasts, not enormous, not small. They were the perfect size to cup in his hand and bathe with his tongue, with cherry colored nipples hardened with the slightest breeze. Her rounded buttocks, she liked to be spanked there sometimes. The little birthmark on her butt cheek, sort of shaped like the Czech Republic. He loved to stroke it, kiss it, and he did that tonight. It was a rare occasion that he could resist doing that.

Her legs were normal, neither long nor stubby. Slightly bowed from years on a horse and a few telltale scars on her knees from preteen tomboy adventures. He did not want to stop touching, massaging, or kissing…for a while that suited his companion just fine. She loved the attention and he was so good at it. Charlie never had to ask her how to do it, where to touch it, or if she liked it. Zoey’s contentment was never in question.

Charlie paid special attention to her breasts, cupping and caressing with his hands before kissing and sucking with his mouth. Her back arched as he fervently sampled everything she offered. Her whole body tingled when the time was near; from the tips of her toes to the top of her head. Zoey gripped Charlie’s back and cried out as she fell over the mountain, descended, and then flew amongst the clouds.

Taking her into his arms, Charlie kissed her until she stopped trembling. If he were honest with himself, he would say her tremble was his favorite part.

“Do you feel better now?” he asked, giving her long, deep kisses until Zoey was once again breathless.

“I just feel so childish. Just because I held out didn’t mean that you had to.”

“Zoey, we don’t have to talk about this. In fact, we shouldn’t. The things that happened, or didn’t, when we weren’t together are that past. We should focus on the present and look forward to the future.”

“What does the future hold?”

Charlie pulled her on top of him, kissing her softly.

“I don’t know about tomorrow but I can definitely tell you about the next hour or so.”

“So tell me.”

“It’s more of a show really. Not an all ages show…this is definitely adults only.”

“I love you Charlie.”

“I love you too.”

They rolled on the mattress and Zoey let Charlie show how much he loved her. When they were both satisfied, and exhausted, she held him in her arms. As he slept, she stayed awake and spent a little time contemplating the past but more anticipating the future.

***


End file.
